Prayers for Colorado

 Photo source: Colorado Springs Gazette.

If you are a regular reader of my blog you know my children live in the beautiful state of Colorado, in the Denver area.  Many areas of Colorado have been besieged by wildfires of epic proportions this past month, most caused by lightning hitting extremely dry trees and brush. One of the latest fires of concern is in the foothill areas of Colorado Springs, the second largest city of Colorado, about an hour driving distance from Denver.  As you can see by the photo above, this raging fire is extensive, and out of control!

 Photo source: Colorado Springs Gazette

Tens of thousands of residents have had to flee their homes, and many neighborhoods are being destroyed by the flames.

Photo Source: Colorado Springs Gazette

The United States Air Force Academy is located in Colorado Springs, and as you can see by the photo above of the Air Force Chapel surrounded by smoke wafting across the canyon, it may also be in danger if the fires are not quickly put under control.







If you watch the heartbreaking CBS video above (it begins with a brief commercial) you will see that one fleeing resident of Boulder County took only one possession--the American Flag that was his son's. His son lost his life in the military in Iraq.


There are more than eight large wildfires burning across the state, the latest in Boulder County, north of Denver, which was also caused by a lightening strike.  Record high temperatures above 100 degrees and extreme drought and high winds have been fueling all the fires and smoke, exhausting the thousands of firefighters on duty, and hindering the more than 100 airplanes and helicopters that are trying to dump water and fire retardant on the flames. 

My thoughts and prayers go out to the people and state of Colorado, for their safety, that a good long soaking rain will help quench these fires and prevent new ones  I am worried about my children and grandchildren, that they also may face the danger of fires in their area. Please keep them all in your prayers!

I am adding this post to Jenny Matlock's "Alphabe Thursday" weekly blog event -- the letter this week is "F"  Sadly the word fire more than qualifies. Thanks, Jenny! 

Thank you.

Margaret Brown--the "Unsinkable Molly Brown"

As I wrote in my last blog post (click here) about the 100th Year Anniversary of the Titanic tragedy, Margaret Tobin Brown, better know by her nickname, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" was a famous RMS Titanic survivor.  She was also an extraordinary woman whose fame and importance in history extends well beyond her survival of the famous shipwreck. This past Christmas season my husband and I visited her home in Denver, Colorado, and were fascinated  to learn more about her life as told to us by a wonderful docent on the tour of her home. There are many myths about Margaret Brown--no one called her Molly during her lifetime --and biographer Kristen Iversen, author of “Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth,” writes that there’s no proof she ever referred to herself as “unsinkable.” These myths came about in an unauthorized biographies and journalistic pieces that embellished aspects of her life in order to make her more "colorful."  In actual life she was basically a self educated woman, and a passionate and outspoken crusader for the rights of women, children, mine workers, and for others struggling for their voice in the early twentieth century.

The Molly Brown House Museum is located at 1340 Pennsylvania Street.  Historic Denver, Inc, saved the house from destruction as more and more historic properties were demolished in the 1960's and 70's. Major restoration efforts returned the home’s interior and exterior to its early 20th century grandeur. 

Although photographs are not allowed inside the house, I purchased post cards of the interior in the gift shop after the tour, in order to show the Historic Denver's efforts to replicate the beautiful grandeur of Mrs. Brown's home.  Many wonderful period antiques were incorporated into the house furnishings.

photo source

Margaret Tobin Brown was born to Irish immigrants John and Johanna Tobin in 1867 in Hannibal, Missouri.  The Tobins had progressive views that valued education, even for their daughter and Margaret attended school until age 13, when she then began working in a factory to help support her family. At age eighteen, Margaret followed her brother Daniel to Leadville, Colorado, to find work. There she witnessed the harsh realities many gold-rush seekers found in the Rockies, as many were forced to abandon their dreams of wealth in order to make a living by doing wage labor under harsh, exploitative conditions. Margaret soon became involved in helping in soup kitchens and other charity efforts. A short time after her arrival she met J.J. Brown, a mining engineer with respectable prospects, but no fortune. After a summer courtship, Margaret and J.J. were married on September 1, 1886. J.J. was 31 years old and Margaret was barely 19.    Soon afterward, JJ discovered gold in the "Little Johnny Mine." The owners of the Little Johnny rewarded the Browns with significant shares in their company, the Ibex Mining Company, and the Browns became millionaires. With their new money the Browns purchased what would become their long-time Denver home in 1894.  Margaret became a charter member of the "Denver Woman's Club", whose mission was the improvement of women's lives by continuing education and philanthropy. Adjusting to the trappings of a society lady, Brown strived to improve her education and became well-immersed in the arts and fluent in French, German, and Russian.

 photo source

Photo caption: "Molly" Brown presenting trophy cup award to Capt. Arthur Henry Rostron, of the Carpathia, for his service in the rescue of the Titanic.

Brown eventually separated from her husband 1909. They never reconciled but they remained connected and cared for each other throughout their lives.  Margaret now had the freedom to indulge in her passion for travel, and in 1912, she headed to Egypt with John Jacob Astor and his wife. She cut the trip short to visit her ailing grandson back in the U.S., and set sail on the Titanic from France, where the ship made one stop to pick up passengers and provisions. Brown wrote that she was watching from a deck after the Titanic hit the iceberg, and that she was thrown into lifeboat No. 6 by a crew member. She rowed all night with its mostly female crew until the rescue ship Carpathia arrived.   At the time, Molly Brown was dubbed "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" by journalists because she helped in the ship's evacuation, taking an oar herself in her lifeboat and protesting for the lifeboat to go back to try to save more people after the Titanic sunk.  Her knowledge of foreign languages enabled her to aid the frightened immigrants who had lost everything, including their husbands, and she gained fame for raising money from rich Titanic survivors to help poorer passengers, making sure they had a place to go when they got to New York.  Brown also helped with relief efforts during World War I and ran for the U.S. Senate in 1914, six years before women could vote nationally.

Photo Source

Molly continued to be active and  spent much of her later years in New York, where she resided at the Barbizon Hotel. That is where she died on October 26, 1932 at age 65. Her fortune had dwindled to $1500 and her house in Denver, which sold the next year for only $5000. According to this website, in her last act of charity, she wanted the poor mining children of Leadville, Colorado to have Christmas presents of woolen mittens and boots. She is buried in the Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury, New York. You can read more about how Hollywood created the myth of Molly Brown on this link, and how she almost obtained "rock star" status after surviving the sinking of the Titanic on this link.  Margaret Brown was certainly a fascinating historical woman, and I hope you enjoyed learning more about her as much as I did!

Home of the "7 Pound Breakfast Burrito"

Yes, you heard that right -- a seven pound burrito!  Where is this behemoth burrito served, or more importantly, why is it even made? To find out those answers I'll show you one of my favorite places to eat Mexican food when I visit my children in Denver, Colorado:

It is Jack-N-Grill, at their flagship restaurant located at 2524 N. Federal Blvd in Denver -- seven blocks north of Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium on the east side of Federal Blvd. Here you can taste owner Jack Martinez's delicious New Mexican style Mexican cuisine, flavored with his fire roasted spicy green Socorro chilies.

The Jack-N-Grill has won many awards, as you can see by their wall of proclamations.  They are especially proud of being voted #13 in a poll conducted by The Travel Channel as "Americas 101 Tastiest Places to Chow Down Countdown."

Their menu is full of a selection of moderately priced entrees.

My family and I enjoy their assortment of combination or sampler plates.

We also like their selection of giant burgers. The Food Network Magazine included a Jack-N- Grill burger called "The Jaurez - South of the Border Monster Burger" in their best burgers issue of "50 States 50 Burgers."

My son loves their New Mexican Posole -- it is cooked with no meat, but green or red chili and a choice of shredded beef, chicken or pork, can be added.

But the star attraction is their giant 7 pound Breakfast Burrito, introduced as a "Can you eat it all?" challenge in 2003.  It is full of 6 pounds of grilled potatoes, 12 scrambled eggs,  1/2 pound of ham, 1/2 pound of cheese, onions and chilies--all wrapped in burrito shells and smothered with chili sauce and cheese. You can watch a video of it being made on this Youtube video.

A whole family, or group of friends, can order one 7 pound breakfast burrito to share.  If you take the challenge to eat it all by yourself, however, there are two rules: there is no time limit, and you are not allowed a bathroom break.  If a man finishes it, he does not pay, and he gets a photo of his face on their "Wall of Fame."  If a woman finishes it, she does not pay, and she also gets her photo placed on the "Wall of Fame," plus she gets to eat at any Jack-N-Grill for free, for life!   About one in twenty people that take the challenge are successful in eating the whole burrito.

The Travel Channel's "Man vs. Food" TV show host Adam Richman took the challenge and failed!  He ate a little more than a half and then threw in the towel. You can watch a time lapse video of his attempt on The Travel Channel on this link.

So, what do you think?  Could you eat it all?

I'm linking this post to the following blog events:

Outdoor Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Potpourii Friday

Mom Trend's Friday Foods

Many thanks to all the blog hosts!

The Hammond's Candy Factory

While I was recently in Colorado, visiting my Children and grandchildren before Christmas, we all decided to take a ride to the Hammond Candy Factory located at 5735 North Washington Street, in Denver, Colorado, where we'd go on their free factory tour and watch how they made candy canes, lollypops, and other candies which are basically made the old fashioned way, by hand, since the 1920's.

We entered the hospitality center where the free tours run every half hour, Monday-Friday 9:00 am - 3:00 pm and Saturdays 10:00 am - 3:00 pm. They are closed on Sunday. After watching a ten minute video about the history of candy making in Denver, and Hammond's history we were welcomed into the factory to watch the candy making process behind glass windows as the tour guide told us more about what was going on.

My grandson, as well as the other children on the tour, were enthralled watching candy being made!

It is fascinating to watch the syrupy base have color and flavors added.

Then the mixture is placed on a "puller" which incorporates all the colors and flavors  As the machine pulls, it adds air, turning the candy white. Next the red, white, and green sections are laid out on a heated table, where the workers knead it out in a long, flat “blanket.”

The solid centerpiece is placed on the blanket of stripes, and the blanket is wrapped around it. The candy makers put this roll on a heated canvas mat. The mat is on a machine that rotates the bundle.

When the bundle is hot enough, a cook takes one end in his hands and pulls it to the width of a candy cane. As the cook pulls, the machine rolls the bundle. This motion creates the twist in the candy cane stripes. As the cook cuts the strip into pieces, a worker takes each piece and puts a crook in it. Hammond's is one of the last candy companies to do this part of the candy making process by hand.  Workers then place the canes on trays to cool, and then they roll the finished candy canes into the packaging room.

The candy canes and lollypops are then wrapped in cellophane, boxed and sent out to stores.

There is a wonderful retail store on location that has all the wonderful varieties of colors and flavors, many of which are all natural, of the large seven inch candy canes for sale!  We bought Apple Pie, Sugar Plum, Cherry and Chocolate filled Peppermint flavored candy canes.

Hammond's also makes old fashioned ribbon candy and sells many gift set assortments.

The store had a wonderful array of all the different varieties of candy that Hammond's makes, including chocolate bars, hand dipped chocolates, marshmallows, caramels...

...candy dips and snacks, cocoa and taffy. They make special candies for the holidays, so we saw plenty of Christmas and Hanukkah candy on display during our visit. You can also order their candy online.

If you really want to impress someone you can even buy this giant five pound lollypop!  This was seen in the Food Network Show "Kid in a Candy Shop" episode that was shot at Hammond's.

My grandson certainly enjoyed his visit to Hammond's Candy Factory!

I'm adding this post to the "Foodie Friday" blog event on Michael's blog Designs By Gollum , and "Pink Saturday on Beverly's blog How Sweet the Sound.

The Colorado Governor's Christmas Open House

High upon a hill at 400 8th Street and Logan Street in Denver, stands the Colorado Governor's Residence, also called "Colorado's Home."  It was built as a private residence in 1908 by one of the state's leading pioneers, Walter Scott Cheesman. He rode an ox cart from Chicago to Denver in 1861, where he joined his brother in the drug store business. Cheesman became an enthusiastic and effective booster of his new city, helping bring railroad service to Denver, developing the town's fledgling real estate industry and helping the city to rise to local and regional prominence.  When Mrs. Cheesman died in 1923 the house was sold to Claude K. Boettcher, a leading western businessman.  The house was inherited by the Boettcher Foundation when Mrs. Boettcher died in 1958. The foundation offered the house to the State of Colorado as an Executive Residence. The building needed a great deal of work, and its fate remained uncertain for nine months in 1959 as three agencies of the State rejected the offer. On the last day of 1959, Governor Stephen McNichols accepted the building as a gift to the state.

The house has been available for use by Governor's since 1960, both as a home and for official Governor's functions.  The present Governor, John Hickenlooper, and his First Lady, Helen Thorpe, chose not to live in the house during his term, as their young son did not want to leave his neighborhood friends, but the house is still used for Colorado governmental functions.  The 24,000 square foot mansion has housed six governors since 1960 and a handful of royalty and world leaders, including Charles Lindbergh, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Harry Truman and Princess Anne.

There are free scheduled tours of the house available year round, but it is especially lovely to visit during the Christmas season. The photo above is a view looking at the front vestibule door from the main foyer.The broad, columned corridor features ornate 18th century French chandeliers and artwork from France, Italy and China line the walls,

The front entrance foyer  is decorated with a wreath and Santa Claus figurine on one side and.....

....mini Christmas trees decorated with white snowflakes, glass icicles and white and gold Victorian style ornaments stand on top of a hand carved Italian baroque credenza dating from the 16th century, behind the trees hangs a 1740 Beauvais tapestry, one of several rare tapestries that decorate the mansion.

Every room on the first floor of the residence was decorated with a Christmas tree. The Drawing Room's tree had a Victorian theme, including Victorian era toys surrounding the base of the tree.  The piano in the room is a Steinway.

The Drawing Room's mixture of European and Oriental motifs is carried throughout the mansion's public rooms, a reflection of the eclectic tastes of its private owners. 

Of particular note in the Drawing Room is this magnificent Waterford Crystal Chandelier that once hung in the White House ballroom in 1876, when President Ulysses S. Grant presided over America's centennial celebration and which was the year Colorado was admitted into the Union as a state.

The beautiful library was remodeled in 1927 by the Boettcher family, with intricate cross-cut inlaid oak paneling covering the walls.

According to the Governor's residence web site: "A centerpiece of the Library, and of the mansion, is the Louis XIV French cylinder desk, made of rare and delicate tulip wood with massive ormolu mounts. Created by Andre Boule, the most celebrated of Louis XIV furniture makers and designers, it is said to be one of only two in existence. The Library also boasts four circa 1690 armchairs, one of Aubusson tapestry, and a glass display case that holds unique jade sculptures from the 16th and 17th centuries, a pair of four foot tall Chinese cloisonne urns, remarkable for their size and azure color and four Tang mortuary horses."

The beautiful custom made area rug in the library depicts Colorado wildflowers.

In the State Dining Room, the table and throne-like chairs are from Italy, hand carved from walnut. The massive table features lion and shield supports.

A close up of the table setting and centerpiece

Flanking the fireplace are antique French rococo style mirrors atop console tables.

Over the table hangs an 18th century French bronze and crystal chandelier, with fruit shaped pendants in amethyst.

The magnificent Palm Room and its two wings have floors made of white Colorado Yule marble, the same marble that the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington, DC is made from. Italian Carrara marble was used for statuary, the scrolled pedestal tables, and benches and urns.

In the wings of  the Palm Room there are hand-crafted floor to ceiling leaded glass windows which bear the Boettcher family initials, and overlook the south lawn.

The room was very bright from the morning sun, so it was hard to photograph the Palm Room's Christmas tree, but if you look closely you can see it is decorated with Native American themed ornaments.  On a clear day Pike's Peak, which 70 miles to the south, can be seen in the distance.

Colorado's First Lady Helen Thorpe wanted to include a multicultural theme to this years holiday decorations, so there were displays in the rooms and in the main corridor of artifacts significant to holiday and winter celebrations of the different ethnic groups that contributed to Colorado's heritage throughout its history.  The holiday decorations are from Asian, African, European, Native American, Latin American and other cultures, and a complete list of the cultural heritages displayed, and their contributors, can be read on the Governor's web site.

The main corridor tree was decorated with a colorful Mexican ornaments, and across from the tree....

..... on this table.....

...was a beautiful folkloric diorama of Mary and Joseph on their journey to Bethlehem before the birth of Christ.

The Governor's residence family room was decorated with a Kwanzaa theme.

 This was the family room's beautiful entertainment bar.

The family room also contains photographs of all of Colorado's past and present Governors, which can be seen on the left side of the photo collage above, and former and present First Ladies, which are on the right, and also portraits of the pre-statehood Territorial Governors, which are located in the middle.

The second and third floors of the residence are the private quarters of the first family. According to the Governor's residence web site: "The second floor contains the elegant Guest Suite that is a showpiece of the mansion's historic grandeur. After a 1987 remodeling, the three-room suite was outfitted with a set of unusual painted-finish Venetian furniture pieces that were in storage since the 1920's. These Venetian pieces include twin sleigh beds, armoire, desk and chandelier. This was the room known as 'Charlie's Room' during the Boettcher years, as Charles Lindbergh was a close friend of the Boettchers' son, and was such a frequent visitor."

I really enjoyed my visit and tour of this stately mansion!

The mansion's grounds are in keeping with the classical decor of the marble Palm Room. Architectural elements include a small columned stone garden temple with a wrought iron dome.

There is a wide Italianate balustrade around the upper terrace, and an alcove below with stone benches.

The residences' original carriage house has been renovated as an event space, and the week I visited Denver there was daily holiday entertainment being hosted in the carriage house.

I was fortunate that on the day of my visit there was a wonderful music program about the customs of a traditional Irish Christmas, along with hot apple cider being served as refreshment. It was presented by the Colorado Governor's Residence Preservation Fund (GRPF). The GRPF is a Colorado not-for-profit corporation whose mission is to preserve the Residence in perpetuity and to provide educational and cultural programs from the Residence that are statewide, inclusive, and nonpartisan.

If you visit Denver try to schedule a visit to tour the Colorado Governor's Residence, as I think you will find it as interesting and beautiful as I did!

I'm linking thos post to the following blog events:  Outdoor Wednesday, Alphabe Thursday (the theme is anything holiday), Tablescape Thursday, Show and Tell Friday, and Pink Saturday.  Thank you to all the blog hosts!